Resilient heel.



J. G. TUFPORD.

RESILIENT HEEL. APPLICATION rum) JULY 21, 1913.

Patented se t.15,1914.

J'QHN G. T'LTFFORD, 0F ,ELYRIA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-SIXTH 'i O CARL H. ING'WER, UNE-SIXTH T0 ARTHUR- G. SMITH, AND QNE-TWELFTH T0 WILLIA'M {1. SMITH, ALL

Lilli "23G,

nnsrtrnnr HEEL,

- Patented sent. is,

Application filed July 21, 3913. Serial No. 780,290. A W L. e.

leg W t t lull MW he. .Ja-J

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN Turrono, citizen of the United States, residing at lillyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Resilient Heels, of

which the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to shoe heels and more particularly to an improvement in cushion heels of that type comprising an elastic lift adapted to be applied to the ordinary heel.

The ordinary form of elastic lift now in common use is flat upon both its upper and under faces so that its flat upper face will bear flat against the tint under face of the lowermost leather lift of the heel to which the cushion heel is applied. As a consequence, after the elastic or cushion lift has been applied and the shoe has been Worn for a short time, the pressure to which the cushion lift is subjected will result in its edge portions being projected or spread to at greater or less degree beyond the sides of the shoe heel proper, presenting an unsightly appearance and providing a crack or .ace into which dirt may enter, rendermg the heel uneven and weakening its 6011- nection with the shoe heel roper.

I am aware that it has he'en proposed to employ a cushion lift having a concave upper face to he applied to the under face of the shoe heel proper but I do not believe that up to the present time any practical and satisfactory means has been discovered and employed for attaching such a lift so that its connection with the shoe heel will he to any extent permanent. The method usunliv employed in securing such cushion lifts in place is to embed in the lift a plate conforming in contour to the concavity of the lift and then secure the lift in place by driving nails 01 screws through the plate and into the heel of the shoe, and Where this method is not followed circular washers are embedded in the lift and have nails or other securing elements driven through them and into the shoe heel. In the first instnncc the pressure imposed upon the heel will tend to flatten out the plate thereby causing its edges to cut through the lift besides Weaken ing or loosening the securing elements, and, in the second instance, so for as I am aware, the Washers have been circular and are arranged so as to be exposed at the tread surface of the lift after the shoe has been Worn for a short time. i

ltis therefore one aim of the present invention to provide a cushion lift so constructed that when applied to a shoeheel ts edge portions will not be forced to pro ect heyond the sides of the heel when pressure 15 applied and to so arrange the attach- 111g means for the lift thatthe lift may Wear to a maximum extent Without exposing such fastening means. 0 Another aim of the invention is to so arrange the attaching devices that they Will be located relatively remote from the edge of the heel lift, whereby the lift may wear to a maximum cntent Without exposing-the some, and. incidentally the invention contemplates so constructing the Washers which constitute an element of the securing means as to further prolong the life of' the lift.

lhe invention has us another object to so form the concave upper side of the cushion lift that when the lift is subjected to pressure any tendency for the edgeportions of the lift to crowd beyond the sides of the shoe heel will be counteracted and there will be equally as great a tendency for the material of the lift to crowd or compress toward the center thereof.

The result last mentioned is accomplished in part by forming the concave side of the lift with a number of separate and distinct concave areas which in fact constitute a plurality of suction cups cotipereting with the under side of the shoe heel when pressure is applied and inasmuch as these concuvc areas are separated from each other the EXj'lilhSlOll or s n-ceding of the portion of the lift of which they constitute the sur faces, will be accommodated so to secure the result aimed The invention aims further to construct the lift and the attaching menus therefor in such a manner as not to destroy or impair the suction action resulting from the use of a lift having a concave upper surface,

In the accompanying drawingsVhignre l is a perspective View of the lift embodying the present invention applied to a shoe heel. l igi 2 is a front to rear sectional view through the lift in position disposed against the under side of a shoe heel and immediately prior to application thereto. l ig. 3 is a similar view through the heel illustrating the same applied. ll igfie is u perspective no View looking at the uppcr side of the lift removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the washers comprising an element of the attaching means for the lift.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates the heel of a shoe and 2 the cushion lift embodying the present invention. The lift 2 is, as usual, formed from rubber, and is molded or cut so as to be of concavo convex form on any line of cross section. In marginal outline the lift is of substantially the same outline as thesidc ofthe shoe heel l and is, of course, to be finished to the same dimensions as the usual shoe heel, either be fore or after its application thereto. The concave upper side of the lift 2 is indicated by the numeral 3 and the convex under side by the numeral 4:. It is preferable that the lift be of the same thickness throughout and that its marginal surface he at all points radial to the center of curvature of its concave side 3 so that when the lift is applied to the shoe heel and subjected to pressure its said marginal surface will be coincident with the side of the shoe heel.

As a means for securing the lift in place upon the under side of the shoe heel, small nails or other suitable securing elements 5 are employed and are driven through washers 6, which are embedded in the lift, and into the shoe heel. These washers 6 are of the form shown in Fig.- 5 of the drawings and each is of segmental form, the chordal edge of each washer being so positioned that the arcuate edge thereof will describe approximately three-fourths ofa circle. Each washer is provided with an opening 7 to accommodate the nails or other securing elements 5 and the said opening in each-masher is located concentric to the arcuateedge thereof. By reference to Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings it will be observed that the washers are so embedded and arranged within the body of the lift that their chordal edges will be presented toward the adjacent portion. of the edge of thesaid body, So that broadly speaking, that edge portion of each washer which is nearest the edge of the body of the lift will be spaced from said edge a greater distance than if the washers were of practically circular form. At this point it may be remarked that by so forn'ling the washers and by arranging them in the manner stated and shown, a maximum wear of the edge portions of the lift is provided for before the washers can be exposed: It will further be observed by referenceto the figures of the drawings that the washers are spaced substantially equidistant from the margin of the lift and that they are located as near the center of the lift as is practical considering a peculiar construction of the lift which will presently be described. The body of the lift 2 is formed in alinement with the opening 7 in each of the washers 6 with openings 8 and 9 which are extremely small in diameter and terminate respectively at the convex and concave sides of the lift. In fact, these openings are so minute that when the nails 5 are driven through the lift, the walls of the openings will be crowded and consequently will snugly embrace and fit the surface of the nails. It has before been stated that a suction force is exerted due to the concave upper side of the lift, audit will now be apparent that due to the snug fit of the nails in the openings 8 and 9 the partial vacuum established when pressure is exerted upon theheel will not be destroyed or impaired. I

As before pointed out, the concave side of the lift is provided with a" number of concave or suction areas and in forming these areas channels 10 and 11 are molded or cut in the concave face of the lift and preferably extend respectively concentric to the forward and curved edges of the lift as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. These channels are relatively narrow and relatively shallow and in addition thereto there are channels 12 and 13 which extend respectively from front to rear and transversely of the concave surface of the lift. In this manner the central portion of said surface is divided into four suction'or concave areas in addition to the main area which may be considered as surrounding the group of first mentioned areas which in the drawings are indicated at 14, and it will be apparent that if desired the channels may have different lines of extent than -here shown, whereby to increase or decrease the number of suction areas 1 1- or to vary the arrangement thereof. It will now be seen that when the lift is subjected to pressure each of the several suction areas 14: will be flattened and a partial vacuum created at each point of their location as well as throughout the entire surface of the upper side of the lift. The formation of the group of suction areas, however, presents this advantage, namely, that the channels resulting in their. formation accommodate the marginal portions of the material of the lift of which the areas constitute the surfaces when those portions are spread due to the pressln'e exerted and therefore the lift is not compressed or spread bodily from its central portiontoward its margin butthe expansion due to compres sion is equalized throughout the body of the lift.

Having claim is:

1. A cushion heel lift having washers embedded therein near its center portion and each of segmental form, the washers being arranged with their chordal edges presented toward the edge of the lift.

2. A cushion heel lift divided by a pluraldescribed the invention, what I ity of intercommunicating channels into a group of suction areas.

3. A cushion heel lift having a concave attaching face formed With a groove having a line of extent substantially parallel to the margin of the lift and having other channels intersecting each other and communicating with the first mentioned channel.

4. A cushion heel lift having its attaching face provided with a suction area located substantially centrally thereof. and washers nibedded in the lift and located in a series extending around the said area and located relatively close thereto, the washers at their sides which are located nearer the margin 15 of the lift being straight edged.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN, G. CECFFORD. [1,. 8.] Witnesses: J. D. YoAnLn'zi' VSAMUEL N. AonER. 

